


An Unexpected Companion

by fooma_foolish_mortal



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Book 2: Earth, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko's Childhood (Avatar), Zuko's Scar (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25814782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fooma_foolish_mortal/pseuds/fooma_foolish_mortal
Summary: Zuko had fallen for Azula's trap. He, along with Iroh, were captured. At any moment, Azula could send them back to the Fire Nation, where they would be tried for treason. The sentence was always death. No matter how many times he told himself that Father would never kill him, the fear did not abate. He couldn't let that happen to Uncle. His plans change when the Water Tribe boy that travels with the Avatar is thrown in his cell. Perhaps, together, they can escape.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 257





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where Zuko and Iroh are captured during Episode 1 of Book 2, and Sokka is then captured in episode 3 at Omashu. I already have the next chapter written, and I'll be posting on sunday's!

Zuko’s wrists were cuffed. His leg ached, his rib felt cracked, and every time he tried to move his head there was a shooting pain and a spike in the constant nausea that roiled in his stomach. He was sitting on the floor, too dizzy to make his way to the bed against the wall. His head rested against the metal hull of the ship, breathing through the pain in his side. He heard the door unlock, and his eyes shot open. Azula stepped through the door.

“We heard all about Uncle’s treason at the North Pole. Father had no remorse sending me to capture you, two traitors to the throne,” Azula stood with her hands clasped behind her back, spine straight and stance steady.

“Where’s Uncle?”

“Oh, he’s just a few cells away, Zuzu. We, of course, had to take some extra precautions with him. His arms and legs are cuffed, and he’s strapped down. We had to gag him, that breath of fire is just too risky. You, on the other hand, barely put up a fight. I can’t believe you thought Father would want you back,” Azula’s eyes bored into his, searching for every flinch, every moment of weakness she inspired. Zuko stayed silent, his head still spinning.

“I’ll be taking over the search for the avatar. You should have seen how angry Father was at your incompetence. He feels much more confident now that he’s sent me to do the job. I’m actually going to make a couple of stops before I send you back to the fire nation. I’m picking up Ty Lee, you remember her,” she paused, a smirk making its way across her face.

“I’m also getting Mai. I’m sure she’ll want a chance to say goodbye to you, traitor or not. I hope to give her some closure, before… you know. Your sentence is carried out,” Azula’s eyes stayed locked onto his, the smile still tugging at her lips. She turned around, stepped through the door, and locked it behind her. Zuko didn’t make his way to the bed for what felt like a long time. When he finally managed to lie down, staring at the bottom of the top bunk, he couldn’t stop the tears from rolling out of his right eye, or stop the heaving breaths that shook his broken rib. How could he have forgotten? Azula always lies.

Nine days. He had been stuck here for nine days. His leg was in better shape, although still stiff, and his concussion was much more manageable. The cracked rib was still just as painful, he would have to escape before it healed. He sat cross legged on the bed, breathing slowly, in and out. Meditation was all he could do for now, and it helped keep the imminent panic from overwhelming him. Azula had caught them. They would be sent home, and tried for treason. He wanted to believe that Father would make an exception for them, but he couldn’t overcome the pervasive fear that they would be put to death. He told himself that Father would never do that to him, but the panic didn’t abate. He ran a hand over his scalp. His phoenix tale had been cut off by Azula, and his head was covered in stubble. It had been humiliating to watch his sister chop off his last tie to home.

The door slammed open, startling him. His eyes jumped to the entrance to see the water tribe boy who traveled with the avatar shoved to the ground of his cell. He was in bad shape, with a deep cut across his cheek, the telltale small bruises along his arms that indicated Ty Lee’s chi blocking. His wrist was swollen, possibly broken. Azula stood in the doorway.

“I have a present for you Zuko. I have to head back into the Earth Nation to search for the avatar, so I don’t have much time to play with our friend here. If you were to get some information out of him, I’ll put a good word in with Father,” Azula’s voice had her usual mocking tone, but she seemed stiff and jumpy.

“Are you sending us back now?”

“Yes. I suggest you get interrogating. I’m confident that he doesn’t know anything, but if you pull off a miracle and get some valuable information… maybe you’ll be the first traitor to get a lighter sentence.”

“Father won’t kill me,” Zuko glared at Azula.

“Do you really believe that, Zuko?” Azula asked, softer than he’s heard her sound in years. With one last glance at the water tribe boy on the ground, Azula turned and left, locking the door behind her.

The water tribe boy scooted his way over to the wall to lean against it. He set himself directly across from Zuko. He was tense and watched Zuko, waiting for him to make a move. The guarded fear in his eyes made Zuko feel sick. He turned away.

“I’m not going to do anything to you. I’m not going to follow Azula’s orders like a dog,” Zuko’s face took the well worn path to anger, the familiar rage rising as he thought about what Azula expected him to do.

“So, you won’t torture me. Not because it’s wrong, but just to spite that crazy lady,” The boy’s voice was incredulous. Zuko layed down on the bottom bunk and stayed silent.

“How old are you?”

“What? Why does that matter?” Zuko couldn’t stop his voice from biting, accusatory with every word. As always.

“It’s just, you don’t look much older than me, now that you’re close up. I’m only 15.”

“I’m 16, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m old enough,” Zuko thought that was a clear end to the conversation. He underestimated how annoying the boy was going to be.

“I’m thinking you’re a 16 year old kid, and that’s why you’re not going to torture me,” Zuko looked over at the boy to see a smug smile on his face. He thought he was so clever.

“My sister is 14, and she would torture you. It looks like she may have already pushed you around.”

“That crazy lady is your sister? And she’s only 14? That’s not normal!” it was then that the door to the cell creaked open again.

“Mai?” Zuko sat up on the bed, his feet planted safely on the ground.

“How could you be so careless? Azula bragged to us about catching you. How she led you to the slaughter like a lamb. Why would you trust her? You know the penalty for treason, Zuko!” it was rare to see Mai so angry.

“It was stupid, I know!”

“It _was_ stupid! You should have known better, of course the Firelord wouldn’t send for you to come home after Iroh committed treason. It’s like you want to die, Zuko,” Mai’s arms were firmly crossed.

“I don’t need you to tell me that I brought this on myself, Mai. I know,” Zuko looked away from her, unwilling to maintain eye contact.

“You should have made a new life, the Fire Nation doesn’t hold anything for you anymore,” Mai ran a hand through her hair, a single bobby pin was displaced, and tumbled to the ground. Mai didn’t acknowledge it, “Goodbye, Zuko,” They locked eyes for a second before Mai left.

“Did she just-?”

“Shhhh! Hide it,” Zuko whispered. The water tribe boy grabbed the pin from the ground and hid it in his boot.

“So I take it this means you’re going to stage a breakout,” the boy kept his voice low.

“Since I would rather not die, yes,” Zuko rolled his eyes.

“What’s the plan? Now that we’re sorta on the same side, we can help each other out?” The boy phrased it as a question, unsure how Zuko would react.

“We’re not on the same side, I’m not on the Avatar’s side. But, with a second person, I think I can get into the duct above us. If I pick the locks on our cuffs and climb on your shoulders I should be able to reach it and unscrew the cover,” Zuko pointed to the vent in the ceiling of the room.

“That’s too easy, this feels like a trap. How can you trust that Mai isn’t setting you up? And how can I trust that you’ll pull me up after you anyways?” the boy was slowly inching his way closer to the beds, trying to keep their voices down.

“I give you my word that I’ll pull you up. Mai isn’t acting on Azula’s orders, Azula doesn’t even know I can pick locks, she thinks I’m helpless. Hand me the pin,” Zuko couldn’t stop his voice from sounding angry, why did he always have to sound like his very voice was violent?

“Are we doing this now? I think we should wait, and your word really doesn’t mean anything to me, I think I should go up first.”

“How would you pull yourself up one handed?” Zuko stared pointedly at the boy’s swollen wrist, “I can’t get to the vent without your help, so let’s call a truce. I’m not on your side, but I’m not on Azula’s side either. Just cooperate with me tonight and we can both get off this ship. I’ll uncuff us now and we can pretend to go to bed. We’ll escape when it’s later into the night.” the Water Tribe boy looked into Zuko’s eyes, searching for something. He must have found it, or said to hell with it, because he handed Zuko the pin. Zuko faced away from the door on the bed and carefully maneuvered the pin. His wrists were cuffed together with his hands facing each other. All he could do was clasp his hands, so it would be a difficult process to get the pin into the keyhole. Zuko had to bend the pin back and forth first where it folded in half. He needed two separate pieces.

“Um, wouldn’t it be easier to pick my lock for me and then I’ll pick your lock for you?” the Water Tribe boy suddenly sat himself on the bed across from Zuko.

“You can pick locks?” Zuko looked up in surprise.

“It makes more sense that I know how to pick locks than it does for you, a literal prince,” the boy cracked a smile.

“My cousin, Lu Ten, taught me. He was Uncle’s son,” he said softly. Zuko returned his attention to the pin, bending back and forth until it weakened and split into two pieces with one last twist.

“That’s the old guy you travel with, right? He’s always seemed nice.”

“Yeah, he’s a few rooms down from us, we’re going to get him before we break out. I think with both of us we can melt the wall enough to break through the hull. We won’t even have to go above deck,” Zuko motioned for the boy to hold his wrists out for Zuko to work on the lock. It felt strange, to be sitting so close, heads bent together, working on an escape when he didn’t know the boy’s name.

“What’s your name?” Zuko’s resolve broke.

“Sokka,” Sokka let out a small laugh, “You’ve chased us halfway across the world and didn’t even know our names.” They sat in silence while Zuko focused on picking the lock; the boat’s gentle rock was the only thing to break the stillness. Sokka seemed to get more and more antsy the longer the silence went on for.

“How did the crown-prince end up captured for treason?”

“You saw what happened in the North Pole. Uncle attacked Zhao. Then I attacked Zhao.”

“But isn’t it a big deal to label the prince a traitor? Like, it seems kinda harsh.”

“I wasn’t the crown-prince anymore, I was just banished, disgraced, ex-royalty,” Zuko’s voice was slowly getting more and more hostile as Sokka continued to press.  
“Since when have you been banished?”

“I’ve been banished for three years, it’s common knowledge,” Zuko said as the lock finally clicked open.

“This makes no sense, why have you been chasing the Avatar for the Fire Nation then?” Sokka’s voice was creeping up in volume with his bewilderment. He took the cuffs off his wrist and rubbed them, irritated from the tight heavy metal.

“Keep them on! We don’t want anyone to see that they’re off if they come in unexpectedly,” Zuko hissed at him as he handed Sokka the pin, “The only way for me to regain my honor and return to my home was if I captured the Avatar.”

“Are you saying that three years ago, when the Avatar hadn’t been seen in 100 years, you were told you couldn’t go home unless you captured the Avatar?” Sokka put the cuffs back around his wrists.

“Yep,” Zuko’s teeth clenched as he held out his wrists for Sokka to start working. Sokka got the pins in position to start picking.

“That’s fucked up,” Sokka’s response was so unexpected that it startled a laugh out of Zuko.

“I… can see how it looks fucked up, but I was fortunate that I was even given a path home. Even one that seemed impossible. It was more than I deserved,” Zuko kept his eyes on Sokka’s hands, watching his technique. Sokka paused until Zuko looked up at him. He had an expression of quiet disbelief on his face, he made sure that Zuko saw it before continuing to pick the lock.

“It’s my destiny. Or it was my destiny, I thought it was my destiny, to capture the Avatar,” the lock around Zuko’s wrists popped open.

“I guess I’ll get on the top bunk and wait for it to be later. Do the lights turn off at night?” Sokka started to climb the ladder at the head of the bunk bed.

“Yeah, they should turn off soon,” both boys were quiet for a time, and Zuko relished in the peace. He closed his eyes, and practiced his breathing exercises. He needed to be ready. He couldn’t let Uncle down. Uncle wouldn’t even be in this situation if it weren’t for him. Uncle had escaped, he had to come back for Zuko, because he was too stupid to remember that he has never won against Azula, why did he think he could win against Azula? The lights turned off, and he kept breathing, trying to fight his way through the oppressive deluge of his failures. If he had caught the Avatar any of the numerous times he had run into him, he could be home. Uncle could be home. Uncle, who left to travel with Zuko, the failure. His breathing had become unsteady. He tried to reign it in.

“I still think this is too easy. Why wouldn’t Azula have secured us better? Why did she even put us in the same room. Did she really think that you would torture me?” Sokka broke the silence. Zuko was grateful for the distraction.

“She just wanted to rub it in my face, that I’m too weak to get any information out of you. She’s underestimating me.”

“I’m not so sure that’s the truth, though. Think about it, why didn’t she already send you back to the fire nation? How long have you been captured?”

“Nine days,” Zuko had no clue where Sokka was going with this.

“She could have sent you back to the Fire Nation right away, but she didn’t.”

“So what? She wanted to taunt me, make sure that Mai could see me at my lowest before I’m sentenced in the capital.”

“Or, she doesn’t want to send you back to the capital where she thinks you’ll be put to death. She barely restrained us! If we had captured you, we wouldn’t have expected this to hold you, of course you’re going to be able to escape from this! You’re a slippery fellow!”

“That’s a nice thought, but you don’t know Azula.”

“And yet, she provided you with an opportunity to prove yourself and change the outcome by putting me in here with you. In her own twisted way, I think she’s trying to help you. She is your sister.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t know Azula,” Zuko tried to shove the anger back down. He couldn’t help thinking about before, when Azula was small. How he had tried so hard to be a good big brother, and how he had played with her when she was a toddler. How her chubby face had smiled up at him and said ‘Zuzu!’, before Father had pitted them against each other. The lights turned off. Sokka said nothing, and they continued to sit in silence.

“Is the Avatar going to show up and interfere with our plan?” Zuko imagined the Avatar, possibly already here, fighting Azula. He would lose.

“They were in pretty rough shape from what I could tell before I was captured. They had to retreat. They have no idea where I am right now, and I have no idea where they’re going to head next. You can’t use me to find them.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, catching the Avatar isn’t the most pressing issue on my mind right now,” Zuko said.

Zuko tried to be patient. His eyes stayed glued to the small circular window that was high on the hull of the ship. It was already dark out, but he wanted it to be the middle of the night before they made a move. Zuko tried to do his breathing exercises to stay calm, despite the sharp pain he felt with every breath that was too deep. He waited what he hoped was a few hours before getting off the bed and standing. Sokka heard him moving and jumped down from the top bunk.

“So, you ready to climb on my shoulders?” Sokka had his hands on his hips, an awkward lilt to his voice.

“Yeah, hand me the pin first,” Zuko held out his hand and Sokka handed over the pin that they used to pick their locks. Zuko climbed onto Sokka’s shoulders next to the beds, using it to steady them as Sokka rose to his full height with Zuko’s feet on his shoulders. Zuko let go of the bed and steadied himself with two flat hands against the ceiling. They made their way to the center of the room towards the vent.

Zuko took the pin from his mouth and bent the tip of one piece into an L shape. He then used the pin to help unscrew the cover. Sokka was unsteady beneath him, he had had no time to recover from his fight with Azula and her friends. When Zuko had unscrewed the cover he gently lowered it into Sokka’s hands. He gripped the edge of the opening and pulled himself up. His cracked rib screamed at him to stop but he ignored the sharp pain. He got his elbows in first so he could brace them against the walls of the vent and pull himself the rest of the way up. He rested his aching rib for a moment when he was situated in the narrow vent. He looked down through the hole in the ceiling to see Sokka staring up at him, a nervous look on his face. Zuko spread his legs and braced himself against the walls of the vent before bending at the waist, putting his torso and arms back into the room, reaching for Sokka.

Sokka reached out with his uninjured arm and jumped to clasp hands with Zuko. Zuko couldn’t help but let out a grunt of pain. He breathed as deeply as he could without further hurting his rib. This was going to hurt. He wrapped one hand around Sokka’s wrist, the other grasping his hand, and started to raise his torso back into the vent. The pain from his rib was blinding. Zuko pulled his arms up, closer to his body until he was face to face with Sokka. His head was now inside the duct. Zuko shuffled back and laid Sokka down. All Sokka had to do was pull his legs the rest of the way through the vent.

“I’ll check the rooms behind me for Iroh, and you look behind you,” Zuko whispered through clenched teeth. He was breathing hard but shallow in an attempt to stop jostling his rib. He thought that the rib was just cracked, but at this rate he was going to break it clean in half. He felt uneasy, hoping he wouldn’t end up with a punctured lung.

They were facing each other in the duct, and there was no space to turn around. They both had to inch their way backwards until they could see through the next vent. Zuko looked through the vent into the room to the left of his while Sokka looked through the room to the right. The duct was pitch black, and the rooms weren’t much better. Only a dim light came through the window in each room. Zuko didn’t see any sign of uncle in the first room, or the second room. What if Azula had lied, and Uncle wasn’t being held anywhere near Zuko? What if she had already sent Uncle back to the Fire Nation?

“Zuko, I think I found him,” Sokka’s voice broke Zuko out of building fear. Zuko instantly began making his way toward Sokka until he almost ran into him, unable to see much of anything. Zuko looked through the vent. The bunk bed was just barely visible, and he could make out a vague lump on the bottom.

“How are you going to unscrew this vent from in here,” Sokka whispered. Zuko put his hands through the middle of the vents' horizontal bars and pulled. The metal was thin, and bent slightly under Zuko’s hand. He worked on bending the bars towards the edges, trying to make just enough room for his hand to slip through. He grabbed the pin from where he was holding it in his cheek, making a quiet huff at Sokka’s whispered, “Eww.”

He was able to force his hand through the bars of the vent after some manipulation, and he began to unscrew it by feel. He had two screws out, and tried to yank his hand back through the bars so that he could move on the other screws, but the metal was thin and sharp, and sliced the back of his hand over the knuckles. He ignored it. He made sure to have a firm grasp on the vent when he got the last screw out so that it wouldn’t fall to the ground. He stuck his legs through first, and lowered himself one handed into the room, finally letting himself drop to the ground silently. Sokka’s descent didn’t go quite as smoothly, he fell to the side with a small thump. Zuko froze, waiting to hear the click of the door unlocking, but it didn’t come. He placed the vent on the ground and walked to the bunk bed. Uncle was strapped to the bed with leather restraints that were easy enough to unbuckle. He then removed the gag from his mouth.

“Zuko, are you alright,” his Uncle’s voice was hoarse and sounded painful.

“I’ll be fine Uncle, how are you? Can you walk?” Zuko immediately got to work picking the locks around Iroh’s wrists and ankles.

“I’ll manage, who’s your friend?” Iroh’s eyes looked over Zuko’s shoulder at Sokka, who was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. 

“That’s Sokka. Do you think you can melt the hull of the ship with me?” one pair of cuffs was successfully unlocked and Zuko moved to Uncle’s ankles. 

“Nice to meet you Sokka, I wish it were under different circumstances. My name is Iroh,” Iroh turned to look at Sokka.

“I think with both of us we may be able to get through the hull,” Iroh answered Zuko’s previous question. A tense silence overcame them while they waited for Zuko to finish freeing Iroh. They were hopefully moments from freedom. Zuko finally took off the cuffs around Uncle’s ankles and helped him to stand. Zuko watched Iroh as he let him go, looking for any sign of pain or injury. They both made their way to the hull of the ship. They took up their stances, and aimed for the same point on the wall.

The stream of fire that they both made was narrow, but intense. The metal gradually began to glow under the prolonged exposure. The room started to get unbearably hot. As the central point of metal began to glow white, they made their flames slightly larger. Zuko held up his hand to stop Iroh. He started to kick the wall right at the brightest spot, his shoe catching on fire where he kicked. He kept kicking, bending the metal further and further. Zuko finally punctured through with a powerful kick. He stamped the fire on his foot out against the ground and motioned Uncle to start heating the wall again. They had to repeat this a few times to get a decent sized hole in the wall. The whole time Sokka stayed near the door, breathing heavily as the room got more and more unbearable.

Zuko shrugged off his shirt and folded it until he had a pad of fabric. He pushed at the bent metal with the pad, widening the opening and patting out the fire after every push. He flinched with every creak of the metal. Someone must have heard by now. He looked through the hole torn into the hull to see that the shore wasn’t far, and the jump down to the water doable.

“Ready?” he looked at Uncle who gave him a slight nod. Zuko jumped out of the hole, careful to avoid the still glowing metal. The cold ocean water stung the fresh cut on his hand and jostled his rib. He started to head toward the shore, looking back after he had swum a little ways. Sokka was close behind him, and Uncle had just jumped in. There was no sign of a pursuer yet. Zuko turned and began to make his way to the shore.

He pulled himself to shore, his thin pants dragged him down, and his rib ached at the repeated abuse. He shivered at the breeze that swept across his now shirtless torso. He saw Sokka come to shore right after him, cradling his wrist to his chest. Zuko had a hard time pulling his eyes away from the ship in the distance. At any second, Azula could be after them. Uncle walked out of the ocean looking exhausted, but Zuko still didn’t spot any grievous injuries, the relief he felt to see Uncle safe and alive was overwhelming. He felt his breaths hitching and a stinging in his eyes. Uncle walked over to him and pulled him into a quick hug.

“We need to get to Misty Palms Oasis, my nephew. I have a contact there. We should travel for as long as we can tonight, our headstart won’t last for long. Are you injured? Is there anything that we need to find treatment for? That bruise looks bad,” Iroh kept his hands on Zuko’s shoulders. Zuko glanced down at the angry bruise that covered the left side of his torso.

“I’m fine, Uncle,” Zuko hoped Uncle hadn’t noticed his flinch at the hug. He had definitely made his rib worse during the escape.

“You’re welcome to come with us, Sokka. You can reorient yourself when we make it to a town, find a map perhaps. Do you have any injuries we need to worry about?” Uncle turned to Sokka, who looked lost. Zuko held his tongue, not thrilled with the idea.

“Nothing serious, I don’t need medical attention. I’ll go with you to the next town, I’m not actually sure where we are. When we get there I’m going to head out alone, and you better not give me any trouble,” Sokka moved to join them, his steps hesitant and nervous.

“Don’t worry, I can’t wait for you to leave us alone,” Zuko turned his back to Sokka. They began to head into the forest just beyond the shore, Zuko and Sokka trusting that Uncle knew the way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka's capture and the aftermath from Aang's point of view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will still be a longer update tomorrow following Zuko and Sokka!

Aang began to glide back to the platform where the fight had begun. He couldn’t believe that Bumi refused to come with him. He understood the importance of waiting and watching, but wouldn’t Bumi be more helpful if he were free? Aang was unable to convince his old friend to escape, or to teach him. Sokka and Katara were right, they shouldn’t have stopped in Omashu at all, it was a waste of time.

The platform came into view, and panic started to set in. Katara was on the ground, bleeding, while Sokka fought two girls. Appa lingered near Katara. As Aang approached, Sokka was hit above his hip with two knives and cried out. The girl with the long braid swept in and hit Sokka’s arm in a series of sharp jabs. Sokka’s arm went limp, dropping his club. The same girl knocked his feet out from under him. Sokka fell to the side, landing on his wrist.

“Leave them alone!” Aang landed and sent a blast of air to push back the attackers.

“Aang! Get Katara, she needs help!” Sokka was trying to pull himself to his feet as the girls began to advance again. Aang ran to Katara and picked her up as gently as he could. He used his airbending to jump onto Appa to set her down in the saddle. There was a row of small arrows sticking out of Katara’s stomach and she had a large bump on her temple. He had to get Sokka. He jumped off Appa to see both girls racing towards him. He took up a ready stance. He needed to take these two out so he could grab Sokka and find help.

He was being overwhelmed. He didn’t cover his side well enough, and the girl with the braid got a few hits on his arm before he could push her away. His arm went limp. The other girl was sending a barrage of knives at him that he had to dodge, and anytime the knives stopped the girl with the braid would jump in. He was getting tired. A blast of blue fire blew past his head, towards Appa. The firebender was back. Appa roared behind him, the platform shaking with his stomping feet.

“Aang, get out of here! You can’t beat all three, Katara needs help!” Sokka had dragged himself to his feet, the two non-benders between him and Aang.

“Sokka, what about you?” Aang was pushed back by another burst of flame. All three girls were advancing on him.

“I’ll be fine, leave!” desperation laced Sokka’s voice. Desperation for Katara. Aang ran to Appa. Katara’s blood was making a pool around her in the saddle. Katara’s life was in danger. He signalled Appa to fly. They had to dodge blasts of fire, but the group couldn’t chase them into the air. Tears began to run down his face. Was he really leaving Sokka, abandoning him to the enemy? What was Katara going to think when she woke up?

He flew low to the ground, looking for a village to stop in to get treatment for Katara. He tried to keep the panic at bay. Katara would be okay, he would make sure she was okay. He reminded himself over and over again, a mantra in his head, that Sokka had told him to leave. It wasn’t a betrayal, Katara needed help. He couldn’t help but worry that Sokka hadn’t realized what he had really asked. Aang had no idea where they would take Sokka, and he had no way to track him unless he left Katara somewhere unprotected. Sokka was separated from them now, and Aang didn’t think he was going to be able to find him again

He came across an isolated house first, and decided it was worth a shot. He didn’t want to make Katara wait any longer. They were still close to Omashu, too close to the group that had attacked them, but it was a risk he would have to take. He landed Appa in front of the house and ran to the door. A woman answered, she was tall and in her forties.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry to disturb you like this but my friend has been seriously injured and she’s losing a lot of blood. Could you help us?” Aang held his breath.

“Are you the Avatar?” The woman looked him up and down.

“Please, I don’t know how long she has.” The woman looked at his tear stained face and nodded. Aang ran back to Appa, jumping directly into the saddle and picking up Katara. His arm could move again, although it was stiff and sore. He rushed her to the front door.

“Follow me,” the woman led him into her house and showed him a bed where he could lay Katara.

“The best I can do is get these arrows out of her and stop the bleeding. I should be able to stop an infection from starting, but If the arrows punctured any of her organs there’s nothing I can do.”

“If you could just get her healthy enough to wake up she could heal herself. She’s a waterbender,” Aang flinched as the woman pried the arrows out of Katara.

“Here, hold this against the wound hard. I have to grab some supplies, she needs stitches,” the woman handed him a folded towel and left the room. Aang pressed against Katara’s stomach, watching as blood began to stain the towel. Katara could die. He felt tears begin to slide down his face again. The woman walked back into the room and set her supplies down next to the bed.

“Keep applying pressure, it might take a while to stop the bleeding. I’m going to make some tea, and you can try to calm down with a cup when it’s time for me to stitch her up,” the woman placed a hand on his shoulder gently.

“What’s your name, Ma’am?”

“Biyu.”

“Thank you, Biyu,” Aang was lucky to have found someone able and willing to help. He focused on keeping steady pressure on the wound, but his eyes didn’t leave Katara’s face. She was clammy and looked ill. The bump on her temple was bruising. He hoped that if he stared long enough her eyes would open to meet his own. Soon enough, Biyu returned. She set down a stool next to the bed before telling Aang to lift the towel. The bleeding had stopped.

Biyu handed him a cup of tea and showed him to a couch before returning to Katara. Aang cradled the tea in his hands, watching the steam rise. It always amazed him, how steam and air interacted. It was the closest airbending and waterbending ever came to one another. The steam made circular, smooth patterns through the air. They went together perfectly. It was dark outside when Biyu rejoined him.

“The wounds are clean, bandaged, and stitched up. The swelling around her temple went down, which is a good sign. If her stomach or intestines were punctured, she’s going to get worse, but there’s nothing I can do for that. I suggest you find a hospital in case she has complications. If you follow the road in front of my house to the left you’ll eventually come to Omashu, they have wonderful doctors there,” Biyu sat on a chair across from him.

“I can’t go to Omashu, it’s been taken over by the Fire Nation.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, I don’t get much news out here. The villages surrounding me are quite small, but they’ll still have more supplies than I do here. You should head out in the morning to look for a doctor.”

“You don’t know how much your kindness means to me. I’ll leave in the morning. The last thing I want to do is bring misfortune to your home because of my presence,” Aang stood and bowed to Biyu.

“I’m happy to help. My husband and son died in the war, so anything I can do to end the violence is worth it,” Biyu stood as well, and grabbed the tea that remained mostly untouched. She was about to walk away, but paused and turned back, “It has always bothered me… that the men of my family were drafted, but not myself. It’s the one thing I think the Fire Nation has right, gender isn’t a consideration in their army.”

“I used to wish that I had died fighting too. That I had done my best for my nation, instead of being left alone. I’m glad that I was here to help you. The bed that your friend is on is the only spare I have, you’ll have to sleep on the couch. I’ll grab you a blanket and a pillow,” Biyu broke their eye contact and walked away. Aang doubted he would get any sleep.

Aang wondered, as he lay on the couch, sleep eluding him, if the monks had been wrong to separate men and women. Men had been relegated to the Northern and Southern airtemples, while women were sent to the Eastern and Western temples. After seeing the fractured state of the world, he wondered if it was better to avoid separating people into groups based on such surface level characteristics. He thought Katara would agree.

Sleep was a lost cause. He was wracked with guilt. Guilt that he wasn’t injured. Guilt that he had left Sokka when he was still capable of fighting. Aang stood and returned to Katara’s room. He could just barely make her out in the dim moonlight. He sat in the stool that still stood next to the bed. He looked at Katara’s face, and was surprised to see her eyes blinking open.

“Aang?” Katara’s voice was weak, “What happened?” she tried to sit up and immediately flinched, her abdomen in no condition to pull her up.

“The trade didn’t go well. They decided Bumi was worth more than a toddler, and called the deal off. There were these three girls, and we weren’t prepared for them. They injured you, and you were lying on the ground, bleeding. I’m so sorry, Katara. Sokka said it was a trap and I should’ve listened to him.”

“I didn’t think it was a trap either, Aang. One of the girls, she did something that took my bending away, and I couldn’t block any attacks. Are you and Sokka alright?” Katara’s voice remained soft and tired.

“I tried to get to him, Katara. I really did, but I couldn’t win against them and you were dying, and Sokka told me to leave.”

“Aang, what are you saying,” a look of horror was beginning to take root.

“I’m so sorry, they captured him,” Aang’s hands were clasped on his forearms, fingers digging into his skin.

“He’s gone?” Katara’s voice trembled.

“Katara, I-”

“Stop. Aang, I… I need a moment. Will you get me some water?” Katara placed her hands over her face. Aang stood to leave the room. He wanted to go to her, to wrap her up in a hug and tell her that it would be alright. He knew it wouldn’t be welcome, this was his fault. He found Biyu’s kitchen and grabbed a bowl. He made his way outside and looked around until he found a well. Appa was sleeping next to the house under a tree. Part of him wanted to leave. He wanted to avoid Katara’s judgment, and avoid the fallout from his own mistakes. He remembered that he had tried to take that way out before, and he knew he would never forgive himself if he ran away again.

He returned to the room with a bowl of water. Katara was staring at the ceiling, tear tracks marred her face. She bent the water out of the bowl before he got too close to her. She covered her hands in water and placed them over the wounds on her stomach. Her face was scrunched up in concentration as the water began to glow. Aang stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed, unsure if he was welcome to come any closer. Katara put most of the water back in the bowl, and used the little remaining around her hands to wipe down her face.

“Aang, come here,” Katara pulled herself into a sitting position. She still had to strain and it looked like it hurt, but she must have been able to get the wounds further into the healing process. Aang stepped around the bed and sat on the stool again.

“I understand if you don’t want to travel with me anymore, You almost died, and I got Sokka captured. I’ve been putting your lives at risk, and it was wrong of me,” Aang felt his eyes begin to burn with tears again. He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried so much. Katara reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Aang, no. I’m not leaving you. After the North Pole, we understood how dangerous this was. Sokka knew the risks. He would’ve gotten us both out of the fight if I hadn’t been hit. I was sloppy, and Sokka had to jump off Appa to rescue me,” Katara waited for Aang to make eye contact with her, “I’m just as much to blame as you are. He’s probably being taken to a Fire Nation prison, and the only way we’re going to be able to save him is if we win this war and the Fire Nation is forced to release it’s war prisoners. We need to find you an Earthbending teacher. The only way out of this is to keep moving forward.”

“But, Katara! I didn’t listen to Sokka, he told me it was a trap. You should be furious at me, I should never have brought you guys with me in the first place.”

“You can’t do this all alone, Aang! I am angry, I wish that we had both listened to Sokka. We’re too trusting. All we can do is learn from it. I wish that we could go find him, I would do anything to change how that fight went. But, I know, and Sokka knows, that the whole fate of the world rests in your hands right now. That’s what’s most important. I’m going to help you save the world, and then we’ll have saved Sokka too,” Katara was crying again, her voice breaking. She pulled him into a hug, and Aang couldn’t hold the sobs back.

“I let him down, Katara. I let you down.”

“You saved my life, Aang. Sokka knows that, that’s why he told you to leave. We’re going to see him again. I’m going to make sure we see him again,” Katara rested their foreheads together, “I’m going to do everything in my power to help you end this war. I’m going to bring my family back together. I’m not helpless, not anymore,” Katara’s tears had dried up. She had such a concentrated look of determination on her face, and Aang felt like he had found the strongest person in the world to stand at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think, I'm not sure how well I was able to get across Aang's voice, especially since it's such a serious situation


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh find medical attention and a hot meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter borrows some dialogue from Book 2 episode 2, the cave of two lovers

Fatigue made every step Zuko took a challenge. The sun had risen hours ago, and they showed no sign of stopping. Sokka was proving to be infuriating. He kept up a steady chatter that Uncle was glad to participate in.

“And then it turned out that Aang knew the King a hundred years ago, so he just forgave him for everything! I didn’t appreciate being encased in crystals, but whatever!” Sokka was animatedly telling Iroh a story.

“I’ve heard that the King of Omashu is eccentric, but never have I heard an account so funny!” he hadn’t seen Uncle laugh so much in a long time.

“Funny to you maybe, but it was scary at the time,” Sokka laughed along, enjoying an easy camaraderie with Uncle, despite their history. Sokka and Iroh were walking side by side while Zuko trailed behind, glaring at their backs. Of course Uncle was making friends with the enemy, or former enemy as it stood now.

“Look! What a lovely creek. We should take the opportunity to wash our clothes, the salt water didn’t make them more comfortable,” Uncle pointed to a clear stream that wound its way across their path up ahead.

“Thank La! I feel all crusty,” Sokka ran ahead to the creek, and began to strip out of his Water Tribe clothes. Zuko followed, he could at least rinse off his pants. They needed new clothes. His and Iroh’s were clearly Fire Nation, and Zuko was still shirtless. It would be odd to walk into a village without a shirt.

As they washed their clothes Zuko’s eyes strayed to Sokka. He was only wearing his underwear, his back facing Zuko. For some reason, Zuko hadn’t expected the boy to be so… fit. He tried to remember if he had ever fought one on one with Sokka. He didn’t remember ever fighting him in particular, except when he first arrived at the Water Tribe village. Sokka turned slightly as he wrung out his shirt, and Zuko narrowed his eyes.

“What are those?” Zuko stared pointedly at the spot above Sokka’s hip. Two puncture wounds were visible, and they looked inflamed.

“Oh those? There was this woman with a lot of throwing knives. They’re fine,” Sokka tried to wave him off.

“They look like they might be infected, you’re going to need medicine. And they should be bandaged,” Zuko’s forehead furrowed.

“I’m sure it’s fine! I’m more worried about you, I feel like your bruise has gotten worse, not better,” Sokka tried to shift the attention off of himself. Zuko looked down at his bruise. Sokka may have a point, instead of lightening into the greens and yellows of a healing bruise, it had darkened and spread.

“Well, what about your wrist? It really needs a splint,” Zuko tried to shift the attention back to Sokka.

“My wrist is fine! I think it’s just sprained.”

“We need to find a village, you’re both right. Zuko, is your rib broken?” Uncle stood from where he had been letting the stream run through his shirt.

“Yes, Uncle. I’m sure it will heal on its own though, it’s fine. Stopping in a village so soon after escaping is a bad idea.”

“It’s funny, I’m pretty sure I asked you both if you had any serious injuries. I could swear you both said you were fine. It seems, however, that neither of you are fine. The risk is worth it, you both need help,” Iroh’s voice was deceivingly light, but his eyes were sharp and he gave both of them a disappointed look, “We’re in the mountains now and Azula doesn’t know which direction we went in. She has no way to know our destination. Let’s look for a path to follow and hope it brings us to a village soon.”

There was no arguing with Uncle when he thought Zuko’s health was at stake. He refused to hear anymore of their arguments. They finished washing and followed Uncle as he changed course to follow the stream. He hoped that they would find a path that led from the stream to a village. Sokka settled into step beside Zuko this time, with Uncle leading the way.

“You didn’t say anything about your rib when we were locked up,” Sokka kept his voice low to avoid attracting Uncle’s attention.

“It wasn’t important at the time,” Zuko said.

“Thank you for pulling me up after you, that couldn’t have been easy with a broken rib. That’s why your bruise is getting worse, isn’t it? I know that you’re not supposed to do heavy lifting with an injury like that,” Sokka glanced at him, and Zuko looked back at the ground.

“Don’t mention it, I gave you my word.”

“That’s the thing, you didn’t have to follow through. Remember what you said before, about regaining your honor?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t think honor is something that can be stripped away like that. You kept your word to me, that’s honorable,” Zuko and Sokka glanced at each other at the same time, Zuko looking a little shocked, “I know you’re probably thinking that I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I wanted to tell you what I see from my perspective, even if it’s not a perspective you value. You seem honorable enough to me.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, but thank you,” Zuko spoke softly. Not knowing what else to say, he returned his eyes to the ground in front of him, a blush rising on his cheeks. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. He knew it didn’t matter, that he would remain honorless in his father’s eyes, and that was what mattered. As long as he was stripped of his birthright, his title, his life, he would remain unredeemed. The only way to truly regain his honor was to capture the Avatar. Even that goal, the purpose he had held onto for three years, was tenuous at best. He was a fugitive of the Fire Nation now. Who’s to say his father would restore his honor now, even if he did capture the Avatar?

“I found a path!” Uncle yelled to them from up ahead. Sokka ran ahead to join Uncle, Zuko once again trailing behind as his two companions started up a conversation.

“Do you have any idea where you’re heading?” Iroh said.

“I don’t really know. Like I said, I don’t know where Aang and Katara would’ve gone.”

“If you’re interested, you could stay with us until we get to Misty Palms Oasis. I have a contact there who can forge passports. I could have him make you one too. A lot of the Earth Kingdom is inaccessible without the proper documentation,” this was the first that Zuko had heard anything about Uncle’s plan.

“That would be amazing. Now that I’ll be traveling on foot a passport would probably come in handy,” Sokka said.

“Uncle, why do you have a contact in the Earth Nation in the first place?” Zuko came up beside Uncle.

“There is much you don’t know about me, nephew. I have many contacts all over the world,” it was easy to forget how little Zuko knew about Uncle’s life. He kept his cards close to his chest, rarely mentioning what he had done in his spare time after retiring from the military. Zuko didn’t ask any more questions. He didn’t want to push Uncle, especially with Sokka around.

It didn’t take them long to come to a farming village. They made their way to the hospital with help from friendly locals. It was probably a good thing, to have Sokka with them. He was so obviously Water Tribe that it lent some credibility to Zuko and Uncle, despite their suspicious clothes. Zuko and Sokka both got lectures from the doctors for taking such poor care of their injuries. The young woman who had introduced herself as Song was especially hard on Zuko. She could tell right away that he had exacerbated the injury.

“It’s definitely broken, not just cracked. You need to be extremely careful, you don’t want the rib to cut into anything important. It’s already caused some bleeding, I would guess from lifting something very heavy. You can’t do any more of that, you need rest,” Song said as she wrapped Zuko’s chest. She had explained that it would help keep the rib in place, and it would need to be kept on for the next several weeks. Zuko was relieved when she finished and moved onto Sokka.

“And you! Your wrist doesn’t feel broken, but it still needs to be wrapped!” Song started to wrap Sokka’s wrist. She then moved onto the stab wounds. She placed an ointment to stop infection and bandaged them.

“What are your names?” Song asked now that all the injuries were taken care of. She had gotten straight to work when she had seen Zuko come in with that bruise on display.

“I’m… Lee. And, and this is Mushi,” Zuko stuttered, he had never been a gifted liar like Azula.

“I’m Sokka,” Sokka said after snickering at Zuko.

“Why don’t you all stay for dinner at my mother’s house? We have some extra clothes we can spare. I know how hard it can be, being displaced by the war,” Song smiled at them.

“We would love to! My nephew ruined his shirt, and we didn’t have time to pack anything when we left. We ran out of supplies days ago,” Iroh jumped in before Zuko could refuse. Zuko stayed silent on the way to the woman’s house. Iroh and Sokka were happy to make conversation with Song, but Zuko was cautious. If she ever found out who he was, she wouldn’t hesitate to turn them in.

Zuko couldn’t understand how she could be so trusting. She gave Uncle and him new clothes, and found a few bags that they could carry supplies in. She made sure to find them extra bandages, and ointment for Sokka’s wound. They all sat around a low table in a room open to the outside when it was time for dinner. Sokka and Uncle were ecstatic. They hadn’t eaten anything since the escape. Song’s mother was happy to have guests.

“Song told me you’re refugees. We were once refugees ourselves,” Song’s mother placed the roast duck on the table.

“When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away, that’s the last time I saw my father,” Song’s voice was heavy with grief.

“The fire nation raided my village at the south pole when I was very young. They killed my mother, and my father had to go off to fight the war with the rest of the men of our village. I haven’t seen him since. I know how you feel,” Sokka paused eating his noodles.

“I… haven’t seen my father in many years, and I lost my mother when I was a child,” Zuko felt bad, he felt bad for them. Worse, he felt guilty. He knew what it was like, to be alienated from your father, to lose your mother.

“Oh, is he fighting in the war?” Song said to Zuko.

“Yes,” Zuko said after a moment’s hesitation. Song wouldn’t sympathize with him if she knew. She would never show such kindness to a boy of the Fire Nation. She would think his suffering was well deserved, “Excuse me,” Zuko stood from the table and went outside, wanting to be alone and away from her sympathetic eyes. He found a spot on their deck to sit. He stayed there, staring at nothing as he let time slip away.

“Can I join you? I know what you’ve been through. We’ve all been through it. The Fire Nation has hurt you,” Song had found him, and she made her way over to his side to sit next to him. Zuko didn’t answer.

“It’s okay, they’ve hurt me too,” Song pulled up her pant leg to reveal a burn scar snaking around her calf. It was a bad burn. Zuko looked at her, taken aback. If the raid on her village happened when she was a child…

“How old were you?” Zuko whispered, terrified of the answer.

“I was nine. What about you?”

“Thirteen. You didn’t deserve that, I’m sorry,” she had been younger than him. Who would do that to a child?

“Well, you didn’t deserve it either. That’s war for you. Why don’t you come back inside? Sokka is telling us stories about the south pole,” Song smiled at him. Zuko stood to follow her, but a voice was whispering to him in the back of his head. You did deserve it, Father wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t deserve it. You pushed Father into doing it, he had no choice. The blame falls on no one but yourself. You’re nothing like Song, she was truly innocent. You’re a coward, that’s why you have your mark.

Zuko couldn’t focus for the rest of the night. Sokka’s stories, when he did hear them, just made him feel worse. It just reminded him that he really didn’t know anything about the Water Tribe, and it didn’t sound like it was anything like he had been taught. He had raided Sokka’s village, like the Fire Nation had raided Song’s. It was a relief when they finally agreed it was time to head out. The fact that he wasn’t truly welcome weighed on him. If Song knew who he was, he was sure she would agree that he deserved the burn.

“Thank you for the duck, it was excellent,” Iroh smiled at the Earth Nation family.

“Yeah, thank you! It was delicious,” Sokka added, he was standing next to Uncle at the front of the house. Zuko stood just behind them.

“You’re welcome. It brings me joy to see someone eat my cooking with such gusto.”

“Much practice,” Uncle laughed and patted his belly. Song’s mother handed Iroh a package of food. These people really were too nice. Zuko turned to leave, he was sick of being around Song’s undeserved sympathy.

“Lee! Where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people,” Iroh said as Zuko tried to sneak away.

“Thank you,” Zuko bowed to them, glad for the hat they had given him. It made his face harder to see.

“I know you don’t think there’s any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned,” Song made one last attempt to lift his spirits.

“I know,” Zuko walked away. He Heard Uncle and Sokka fall into step behind him.

“We should get a few miles away from the village before we settle for the night,” Uncle suggested. They had been walking for a while when Zuko found himself next to Sokka.

“What happened to your mother?” Sokka had his hands in his pockets. Uncle was behind them for once.

“She disappeared one day. The same day that Firelord Azulon died. We could never get Father to tell us what happened,” Zuko knew that wasn’t the whole story, but he didn’t know for sure. Azula always lies, after all. Father wouldn’t have killed him, he was only 11 at the time.

“My mom lied to the raiders. They were looking for the last water bender in our tribe. She told them it was her, to protect Katara. He killed her in the middle of our house.”

“Is that the water bender you travel with?”

“Yes, she’s my sister,” they were silent for a moment, “You don’t have to answer, but… what happened to your face? It’s a really bad burn. I assumed it was an accident, when we first saw you. Now that I’ve seen it close up, it looks like a hand,” Sokka was whispering now. He was probably afraid of the answer. Zuko didn’t know why, but he wanted to tell him. Sokka had told him something painful, something that Zuko’s own family was responsible for. Part of him wanted Sokka to understand, to really understand, what Zuko had lost, and what had influenced his actions and his destiny so completely. He wanted him to think that Zuko was different from the raiders who had killed his mother.

“It happened when I was banished. I refused to fight in an Agni Kai. It was shameful, but I couldn’t attack my Father. I was weak, and he told me he needed to teach me a lesson. I woke up banished. Uncle was with me on a ship, and he told me what my Father wanted me to do. Find the Avatar, and I could go home,” Zuko felt the shame clawing at him as he thought about that day. Remembering the tears that had been running down his face while Ozai approached him. Now Sokka would understand, he was truly honorless.

“Zuko, you were only 13,” Sokka looked horrified, “Why were you even in an Agni Kai with your father? What is that?”

“It’s a duel for your honor. It’s usually to the death. I showed great disrespect by speaking out against a plan in the war room. A general suggested using a battalion of untrained soldiers as bait. I thought that would be betraying our people. I thought that I was going to face the general that I had disagreed with, but when I turned around, it was my Father. I’m fortunate that he didn’t kill me, and that he provided a path home."

“You were right! That sounds like a horrible plan! How could anyone punish you for that? You were 13! Zuko, you didn’t deserve that. No one deserves that,” Sokka grabbed Zuko’s shoulders and looked into his eyes, “You’re the one who did the honorable thing, sticking up for those soldiers. Your Father is the one who lost his honor. Someone who could do that to their own child, or any child, is a monster.”

Zuko looked into Sokka’s eyes. He really believed that. Zuko wished that he could believe that too, but how could the Firelord be wrong?

“Is everything okay,” Uncle had caught up with them. Zuko broke away from Sokka’s stare.

“Everything is fine, Uncle,” Zuko broke away from Sokka and continued walking. It didn’t matter what Sokka thought in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! I'll be posting again next Sunday. Thank you for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang and Katara find themselves in a suspicious swamp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some dialogue from atla book 2 episode 4 "The Swamp". This is another Aang pov chapter! It's pretty short, but hopefully I'll make up for that in next weeks chapter. It will be back to Zuko, and I'm very excited.

They left as soon as the sun started to peak out from behind the mountains. Katara had to wave off Biyu’s concern, she was not pleased to see Katara up and moving already. Aang had to admit that he wasn’t thrilled by it either, but he trusted Katara to know how much she could handle. They had decided not to stop at any of the nearby villages for a doctor, Katara was confident that she could take care of herself with daily healing sessions.

Riding on Appa was quiet without Sokka. Katara was reading one of the scrolls that Master Pakku gifted her while Aang steered. Momo was curled into Katara’s side, sleeping. The day was overcast, matching the glum mood of the pair. They agreed that they had to move on and keep searching for a teacher, and it was important to put distance between themselves and Omashu. Despite their plans to keep moving forward, the absence of Sokka was obvious, and painful. They kept catching themselves looking for him, or trying to talk to him. Traveling without him felt wrong. A huge swamp sprawled beneath them, ensuring a long day of flying without a good place to rest. Aang was having a hard time staying focused.

“Aang, why are we going down?” Katara shouted to him from the saddle.

“What?” Aang had to shake himself from a stupor, and found that Appa was losing altitude, “I didn’t even notice.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I know this is gonna sound weird, but I think the swamp is calling to me. I… I think it wants us to land there.”

“I don’t know, there’s something ominous about it, and there doesn’t seem to be a good place to land,” Katara looked skeptical.

“Bumi said that to learn Earthbending I have to wait and listen, and now I’m actually hearing the earth.”

“I don’t think It’s a good idea, Aang. I’m still not anywhere near full strength. I don’t think I could do much to help you if something went wrong.”

“You’re right, we don’t need to put ourselves in unnecessary danger. It’s not worth it,” Aang led Appa higher into the sky. The clouds began to get darker, and a strange rumbling was building in the air. Aang looked behind Appa, and watched in horror as a tornado began to form behind them. The noise built into a warbling buzz as the wind began to build around them.

“Aang! We need to get out of here!” Katara’s voice spurred him into action, and he tried to speed up Appa to escape the range of the growing tornado. The wind was pulling them, and the tornado seemed to be following every evasive maneuver he tried to take. They couldn’t escape, and the tornado just seemed to grow bigger, and the sky darker. Aang looked back at what he thought was a scream. Katara was holding onto the saddle, but her legs were in the air, and she was about to be pulled into the torrent of wind and debris. Aang jumped to her, and formed a bubble of his own howling wind around Appa. Katara fell back into the saddle.

He couldn’t win against a tornado by himself, no matter how hard he tried. His protective ball faltered, and they were flung away from Appa. Aang grabbed Katara and held her close as they were buffeted by the wind on all sides. Aang managed to block a huge bough from hitting Katara, and he pushed them out of the raging winds with a blast of Airbending. They went plummeting towards the Swamp. Aang adjusted his grip on Katara, cradling her as he stopped their momentum before hitting the murky water of the swamp. He set Katara back on her feet.

“Where’s Appa and Momo?” Aang looked around the dense trees. He jumped up the nearest tree. Appa was nowhere to be found, and the sky was back to the light gray of the earlier overcast clouds. He returned to Katara.

“I didn’t see any sign of Appa, and the Tornado just… disappeared.”

“That tornado wasn’t natural, It came out of nowhere,” Katara bent the swamp water out of her hair and wrapped her braid into a bun.

“The only people I know who can make tornados are Airbenders, and even then it was nothing like that,” Aang stood on a huge moss covered log, or was it a root?

“Maybe it was the Swamp. You said it was calling you, and something about this place feels alive.”

“We need to find Appa and Momo and get out of here. Who knows what lives here, and you’re still injured! Now swamp water is getting all over your wound, and I feel like that’s not a good thing,” Aang inched his way closer to Katara. He was scared of this swamp, scared of what could happen to her.

“I may be injured, but you know I could still kick your butt at waterbending,” Katara poked him, and he let out a startled laugh, “Let’s look for Appa.” Katara began to lead the way, weaving her way through draping vines and calling for their animals.The light fog around them began to thicken as the day drew closer to an end. Bugs, larger than they were used to, began to appear more frequently as it got darker.

“I think we should make camp,” Katara stopped walking and turned to Aang.

“Yeah, it’s getting creepier the later it gets,” Aang caught up to Katara and stood by her side.

“Do you get the feeling that we’re being watched?” Katara whispered to him. A bright light appeared in front of them, hovering for a moment before flicking away like a bird.

“I think there are spirits in this swamp,” Aang whispered. They found an old, huge, hollow tree that was clearly dead and curled together. They were too nervous to cut the vines to make a fire. Aang was sleeping restlessly, the swamp was loud at night with the sounds of bugs and frogs. He was jolted awake when vines wrapped around him, and dragged him into the water. He thrashed, trying not to breath underwater. He realized he could reach the swamp bed to stand and made a sphere of air surrounding him, pushing the vines away. He hopped out of their grip and spun around to where he thought their camp was. He didn’t recognize anything.

“Katara?” he called out as the fog curled around him. He slowly made his way forward, through the opaque water. He felt something bump against his leg. He looked down and made out the vague shape of a body. Fear went through him like lightning, and his hands felt immediately shaky and unsure. The shape turned over, and he saw Katara’s glassy eyes looking up at him. He screamed. Her face was slack and pale, her eyes unseeing. Then, it flickered, and it was just a log. Aang was hyperventilating now, gasping for air as he felt the log, reassuring himself that it really wasn’t Katara. Katara wasn’t dead, she couldn’t be dead.

“It’s okay, Aang. It’s only an illusion,” Aang looked up to see monk Gyatso standing in front of him. He looked fine, just like he looked when he was alive.

“Gyatso? I ran away, I’m sorry. I left and you all died, I’m so sorry,” Aang reached out for Gyatso, hoping for forgiveness. But, Gyatso was gone. There was a log at his feet, fog swirling around him, and he was alone.

He started running, panic overtaking him. He had to find Katara, he couldn’t be alone. He could barely see anything through the mist, and the swamp water slowed his limbs, tiring him out as he pushed his way through it. Katara was strong, nothing could drown such a strong waterbender. She could take care of herself.

His breaths, although still shallow, were even again. He fought his way through the vines that he was now wary of, just waiting for them to grab him again. There was suddenly a hill visible through the mist, a mound of roots and loose dirt that rose from the water. He thought he could see someone on top of it.

“Hello? Katara?” all he heard was a giggle, and the figure turned and walked away from him. He jumped up the hill, but the figure was gone. He heard the giggle again, and turned. The figure was on a tree branch now. It was a girl, a young girl. A flying pig spread its wings next to her, and she giggled again. Her eyes had a white film over them, and they seemed to be unseeing. He tried to jump up to her, and she ran away. He looked around the branch, and saw no sign of her. The giggling came again from behind him. How was she moving so fast?

He tried to chase her, but every time he was about to catch up she disappeared. He spotted her again, and tried to run and catch her, but at the last second she morphed into Katara, and they tumbled together back into the swamp.

“Katara!” Aang hopped back to his feet and threw his arms around her.

“Aang! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“I was looking for you, and then I saw this girl and I started chasing her and she kept disappearing,” Aang stepped back.

“What girl?”

“I don’t know, I heard laughing and I saw some girl in a fancy dress.”

“I thought I saw my Mom. Were we having, I don’t know, visions?” Katara said.

“I guess we must have, and they led us right here.”

“Okay, so where’s here?” They looked around and saw a huge tree. Bigger than anything they thought was possible. Vines and moss hung from the wide reaching branches. The trunk was massive, and almost looked like dozens of trees had merged into one.

“I think we’re at the center, the heart, of the swamp,” Aang stared at the tree in awe, “it’s been calling us here. I knew it!” Something burst from the water. It was a collection of vines. A wooden mask rested at the top, and two sprawling arms of swamp plants reached for them. Aang sent a slice of air at the creature's arm, but the severed stump simply lowered into the water, and more vines crept their way into the beast, forming a new arm.

Katara ran past him and started to fight. She sent rings of razor sharp water at the creature, cutting through as many of the vines as she could. Aang could swear that he kept seeing glimpses of a person inside. Katara made a sweeping move to send a large wave of water across the creature, and she faltered. A gasp escaped her mouth as a hand flew to her stomach, and Aang saw a brief grimace of pain on her face.

In her hesitation, a surge of vines emerged from the water and grabbed her, immobilising her in the air as she tried to struggle. Aang lept into action, he blew back the creature.

“Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us?” Aang yelled, hoping there was a person there to answer.

“I didn’t call you here,” A deep voice came muffled from the vines.

“We were flying over and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land,” Aang said as a man began to appear from the slowly retreating vines.

“I didn’t realize you heard the call, I thought you were here to attack the Banyan grove tree,” the man let his vines fall into the water and raised his hands in peace.

“Who are you?” Katara had found her feet, but she was still holding a hand to her stomach.

“I protect the swamp from folks who want to hurt it.”

“We aren’t here for anything like that, we actually didn’t even mean to land here. Why would people want to hurt the swamp?” Aang relaxed his fighting stance.

“The swamp is a mystical place. It’s sacred. I reached enlightenment right here under the banyan grove tree. I heard it calling me, just like you did. See, this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles. Branches spread then sink and take root and then spread some more! One big, living organism, just like the entire world. There are people who want to take advantage of that, and see it as an opportunity to make a profit. People are always looking to chop down pieces of the tree to use in bogus medicine and to make charms for tourists who have heard legends of this swamp."

“I get how the tree is one big thing, but the whole world?” Aang was skeptical.

“Sure. You think you’re any different from me, or your friends, or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We are all living together even if most folks don’t act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree.”

“But what did our visions mean?” Katara said.

“In the swamp, we see visions of people we’ve lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone, folks we think will be gone. But the swamp tells us they’re not. We’re still connected to ‘em. TIme is an illusion and so is death.

“But what about my vision? It was someone I had never met,” Aang thought about the young girl who stayed one step ahead of him.

“The only person who knows what your vision meant is you,” the man smiled at Aang.

“Time is an illusion, so it’s someone I will meet,” Aang guessed. The man nodded, “If the whole swamp is connected, maybe I can use it to find Momo and Appa.”  
Aang placed his hand on the nearest root and closed his eyes. He calmed his mind and emptied it of all thought. He put himself into a practiced meditative state, and reached out. There was something spiritual about this swamp, and if anyone could tap into that it would be the Avatar. He felt a lifeforce running beneath his hand, and when he followed it, his perception of his surrounding expanded. He let his awareness wander over this new sight that grew in every direction until he found Appa. He was struggling against the rope of a net as people in boats circled him.

“Come on, we gotta hurry!” Aang pulled himself out of the meditation and stood, “There are people attacking Appa not far from here, follow me.” He didn’t give Katara a chance to react before running ahead. Aang refused to think about what he would do if he were too slow. Appa was the second survivor of the decimation of their people, his sworn lifelong companion, his best friend. Katara and the man followed behind him. It was a fast trip, and Aang was furious when he arrived. He pushed one of the boats back with waterbending. He spun and sent a tunnel of air to knock a man off the boat. The man dropped a sack and Momo escaped, flying towards Aang.

“We’re under attack!” the last man standing on the boat yelled before sweeping his arms through the air to send a wave of water at them. Aang stopped the water from crashing down on them, and he found himself in a rhythm with the other bender, keeping the water suspended in the air.

“You guys are waterbenders?” Katara looked shocked.

“You too? That means we’re kin!” he said as they both let the water drop. The man they met at the center of the swamp caught up to them, climbing onto the same root.  
“Hey, Huu! How you been?”

“You know, scared some folks, swung some vines. The usual,” his name was Huu, apparently.

“Friends of yours are friends of mine! My name is Doo.”

“So, you’ll let my bison go?” Aang’s eyes hadn’t left Appa.

“Of course, we didn’t realize that this was a friend’s bison,” as soon as Appa was released Aang felt better. These people were reasonable, they listened. Everything was fine. The night ended up being somewhat enjoyable. Doo, Tho, and Huu were gracious enough the feed them and let them stay the night. As it got later and later Aang watched as Katara grew more withdrawn. He waited until they were all trying to sleep before talking to her. Their sleeping bags were next to each other and it was easy to whisper to her.

“Katara, are you okay? Is your stomach okay?”

“I’m fine Aang, I just pushed myself too hard earlier, it’ll heal,” Katara turned onto her side and opened her eyes.

“That’s not the only thing I was asking about.”

“I know. I’ll really be fine. It’s just weird without him here. I can’t stop thinking about how much Sokka would hate this swamp. He always hated anything to do with spirits.”

“I miss him too,” Aang reached out a hand, and Katara reached out to meet it. They fell asleep soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know if there's anything you think I should add to the tags, my mind goes immediately blank anytime I try to think of any!


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